Fleeting Moments
by mistyarturo
Summary: Steve has to go back overseas and he plans on spending every last moment leading up to it with Peggy. (AU where Steve didn't crash obviously).
1. Chapter 1

Peggy had been bent over her desk hard at work on some papers about Steve and his serum, which had seemed to multiply ever since they started living together. The doctors wanted to know every single last thing about him and realized that she was the woman for the job. She hadn't wanted to at first, not wanting to invade his life, but he seemed alright with it, even insisted, so she agreed. Steve walked into her office looking absolutely ashen. She finished writing the sentence she had been working on and glanced up when she noticed the movement out of the corner of her eye and all it took was one look at his face to have her up, out of her chair, and just inches away from him within a single moment.

"Steve? What's wrong?" He looked down at her sadly.

"They want me to go back overseas." Peggy deflated. They had just gotten into a routine and a real relationship. They had gotten a new apartment together and went into the offices together every morning and got dinner on their way home.

"Already? There's not even any trouble over there. How long do they want you to go?" her voice had gotten soft as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled herself into him. He responded by wrapping his arms around her as well and resting his chin on her head.

"6 months, maybe a year. They weren't sure. They think they've found a Nazi base that's still active. It depends on how long it takes and if there's more." Peggy held onto him tighter.

"I can try and get them to send someone else-"

"Peg, you know I'm not going to let you do that." She pulled away and looked up at him.

"When do you leave?"

"They want me out by tomorrow, first thing in the morning. A defeated expression crossed her face and it killed Steve. "Hey, it'll be OK Peg, I'll be OK." She nodded slowly before backing away slowly.

"Well then, we should probably-" she was cut off as Steve had stepped forward and pressed his lips to hers. Peggy's eyes fluttered shut as she kissed back, surprised, but delighted. Her hands made their way to his neck to pull him closer to her as his arms wrapped themselves around her waist and held her as close to him at was physically possible. They finally pulled apart for air, but neither ever broke the others gaze. After a solid minute, Peggy was the one to look away when someone came to the door.

"Captain? They need you in the control room."

"I'll be there in a minute." he responded without turning around or looking away, still holding Peggy. They left, leaving Steve and Peggy alone once again. "I'll see you when we get out, OK?" He let her go reluctantly, running the back of his hand over her cheek before finally stepping away.

"OK." Peggy nodded and smiled at him as he let her go then left the room, but not without another stolen peck on the cheek. She bit her lip looking after him for a moment before heading back to her desk and sitting in her chair. She picked her pen up once again and tried to focus back on what she had been doing, but just couldn't seem to for the life of her.

6:00 couldn't roll around soon enough for Peggy and as soon as the clock turned she was out the door and on her way to find Steve. He was still in the control room talking with some men but when he heard her heels clicking down the hall way, he suddenly dismissed himself and left to go meet her. As she passed the doorway he swung out and grabbed her from behind, making her scream.

"Steve! Do not do that! I could really hurt you!" she scolded, as he spun her to face him, but it wasn't very convincing, seeing as how she was laughing at the same time.

"How about we go some place nice, some place fancy, for a change?"

"But Steve I'm not dressed for that..."

"Well then I guess you'll just have to go home and change." her eyes narrowed at him, knowing that he was up to something, but she wasn't sure what.

"Alright, let's do it." They took a cab back to their apartment and Peggy went into their room and started looking through her dresses for something to wear. Steve came in shortly after her and saw her internal struggle raging as she stood with a dress in each hand and another hanging on the doorknob. He smiled and came up behind her, moving her out of the way. "Steve, what are you-"

"This on will look amazing on you." he interrupted as he pulled out a black dress with a 'v' cut that was a little lower than she normally wore out of her closet and took the other two out of her hands, replacing them with that one.

"Are you sure Steve? Because-"

"Yes, you'll look gorgeous." Peggy was stunned, but listened and put the dress on, matching it with a pair of black heels. She then locked herself in the bathroom and re-applied her makeup, changing it to something a little more appropriate for the evening, rather than her work makeup that had been done hastily and in an exhausted daze that morning. When she finally came out, almost a full hour later, Steve was waiting for her, wearing a black tux with a red bow tie. Peggy's mouth fell open a little as Steve stood up from where he was sitting on their bed and walked over. He took her chin in one hand and kissed her red lips softly. She smiled and looked at him when he had pulled away.

"You look stunning Peg." His eyes fluttered over her now smoky ones, her body in that amazing dress, then back up.

"You don't look too bad yourself, soldier." she said as she absentmindedly pressed her hand to his chest before pulling it away quickly. He smiled winningly at her and with that they left and headed out to the sidewalk. When Steve turned to the left and started walking, Peggy stopped.

"Steve, where are you going? Aren't we going to take a cab?"

"No, it's nice out, let's walk." Peggy's eyes narrowed again, but decided to play along with whatever his little plan was and caught up with him, and when she did, she grabbed his hand and laced their fingers. Steve smiled at her and squeezed her hand a little. They talked as they continued walking down the sidewalk. Peggy guessed they had walked maybe 6 or 7 blocks when Steve stopped suddenly and pulled her into a building. As they went in, Peggy looked up and noticed that he was pulling her into the Black Colt, a restaurant known for being unworldly delicious, but also expensive to the point of ruin. She pulled on Steve's hand and stopped him.

"Steve, what are you doing? This place is much too fancy-"

"Peg, it's fine, I promise."

"Steve-"

"Peg, it's fine. I know what I'm doing." She bit her lip as she let him lead her inside. She soon discovered that he had made reservations but the table was just being set up. So they went to the small bar that was set off to the side and ordered some drinks; red wine for Peggy and a beer for Steve and after just a few minutes they were quickly seated across from each other at a table for two toward the back of the restaurant. Once the host had walked away, Peggy glared at Steve, who in return, held his hands up in innocence. "What's that look for? What did I do wrong?"

"I want to know what you're up to. Telling me to get all dressed up, taking me to a fancy restaurant, reserving a secluded table... I know you're up to something, I just don't know what."

"Well don't try to figure it out too hard, tonight is supposed to be fun Peg." he smiled and took her hand from across the table, resting them on the table as his thumb traced circles on the back of her hand. She bit her lip and cracked, smiling back warmly at him. They talked over the menu and each finally decided on a meal after asking the waiter to come back several times. Peggy ordered filet mignon and Steve got chicken tetrazzini. The waiter left once again but soon came back with salads and another round of drinks, taking the empty glasses away with him. Peggy picked up the wine glass and took a sip from it before setting it back on the table. She opened her mouth to say something but Steve started talking first, so she closed her mouth and listened. She soon found herself not even paying attention to what he was saying, but instead memorizing everything about him. They way his eyes crinkled a little when he smiled, the was he subconsciously picked at his nails while he was saying something, and paid special attention to his face, not looking away until she was sure she would be able to recall ever pore. She smiled sadly and let out an extra little puff of air as she stared off into space.

"And I was just- Peg? Peggy?" Her name brought her back to reality as she brought her attention back to the man sitting across from her. "Are you OK?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Just a little spacey, that's all." Steve nodded slowly, not entirely convinced, but let it slide for the moment. A minute or so later their food was brought to them and Peggy swore she heard Steve's stomach growl. She giggled as she picked up her fork and placed her napkin in her lap before digging in. Within half an hour, their plates had been cleaned and both were full. Peggy set her napkin back on the table and looked over at Steve who was staring at her. She smiled, suspecting he was doing the same thing she had been just a little while before. "Steve..." she said in a sing song voice, snapping him back to attention.

"Sorry," he laughed a little. "you just look... wow." Peggy felt the blush rising on her cheeks.

"Stop it! You've seen me in a dress before."

"Yeah, but this one..." She smiled and shook her head, laughing breathily.

"Oh Steve..." The waiter then came over and started to clear their plates from the table.

"Can I interest either of you in dessert tonight?

"Oh, no, I don't think-" Peggy started before Steve interrupted.

"That sounds great! We'll take the chocolatey-est thing that you have." he ordered, knowing that chocolate was Peggy's favorite thing in the world, besides himself of course. The waiter nodded and walked away. Steve looked at Peggy smiling, only to find that she was glaring back at him.

"Really Steve? I really don't need to eat anything else..."

"It's OK Peg, we'll share it." she sighed, glancing over at a wall decoration, giving in, knowing that this was one fight that she was just not going to win. Besides, it was chocolate, how bad could it be? Peggy looked back at Steve, only to find that he was standing up. Her brow furrowed as she touched his hand to get his attention.

"Steve, where are you going?"

"The bathroom, I'll be back in a minute." she nodded and let him go, thinking nothing of it. She heard her favorite song playing on the speakers in the restaurant and smiled, humming softly as she played with the edge of the table cloth, her head resting in one hand. Steve came back after a couple of minutes and took his seat at the table. Peggy came back to reality and smiled at him while he smiled back.

"Hello again." Steve smiled and opened his mouth about to say something, but the water came over with their desert. It was the biggest piece of cake Peggy had ever seen; it was chocolate cake with chocolate chips in it covered in about and inch of chocolate frosting. On the plate there were also little chocolate covered strawberries surrounded in little rings of chocolate. She took in a long breath and grinned at Steve with an evil glint in her eye and Steve knew he had done the right thing.

"Thank you." he told the waiter and they walked away.

"Steve, this looks amazing!" Steve just smiled at her without saying a word and turned the plate so that she could get one of the forks that had been set closer to him. She was about to pick one up when she gasped loudly and her hand flew to her mouth as she felt tears forming in her eyes. Steve just grinned. Where there should have been a strawberry, there was the most gorgeous ring Peggy had ever seen. She carefully picked it up, so as not to get any chocolate on it and held it up. "Steven Grant Rogers!"

"Yes?"

"What the hell is this?"

"It seems a ring ma'am." Steve grinned, trying to play with her as much as he could.

"You know what I meant! Does this mean what I think it means?"

"Only if you want it to Peg." Steve's voice suddenly became more serious and less joking. She bit her lip, looking at him, searching his eyes as the tears that had been gathering in her eyes started spill down her face. She put the ring on her left hand ring finger then started to wipe away tears as she nodded furiously. She had never been one to get emotional and she was shocked that she was reacting the way she was. Steve grinned and stood up, walking around the table to pull of her out of her chair. He took her face in his hands and carefully wiped tears away with his thumbs.

"I wanted to score that dance." Peggy laughed breathily as soon realized that his efforts were a lost cause and pushed his hands away before surging forward and captured Steve's lips in a kiss. His hands made their way to her waist as hers cupped his neck and he kissed back. They finally came apart for air and a few people who had seen the scene unfold were clapping or whooping. Peggy blushed bright red and Steve chuckled. "Why don't we eat some of that cake then go home?"

"Why that sounds delightful." she smiled as she took her seat once again and picked up her fork before digging in as Steve did the same. A little while after they had finished, the waiter came with the check, they paid, and left, starting their walk home. They got outside the restaurant and it was Peggy who turned while Steve stopped.

"Wouldn't you rather we get a cab?"

"Oh no soldier. You made me walk here, I'm going to make you walk back." Steve grinned and nodded.

"Yes ma'am." He returned to her side and they started walking.

"Good, if you had protested, I was going to make you sprint it." she teased, nudging him with her shoulder playfully. It had gotten quite a bit chillier out from their earlier walk and Peggy found herself involuntarily shivering. Steve noticed and took off his jacket, giving it to her.

"Steve you really don't have to-"

"Just take it Peg, let me be a gentleman tonight." Peggy bit her lip and nodded, silently lacing her fingers with his. He smiled and squeezed her hand a little.

"I'd say you've more than succeeded tonight." They arrived at their building and they headed up the stairs to their door and Steve unlocked the door. Getting in, the first thing Peggy did was unstrap her heels and kick them into a pile in the corner. "Ugh. That is the last time I let you make walk that far in heels."

"Says the woman who fought a war in those shoes."

"Shut up." She smirked as she tossed his jacket over a chair in the den as Steve loosened his tie around his neck and slipped it off.

"Now what?" Peggy sighed.

"Well, as much as I'd like to do anything else, we need to get you packed." Steve's face fell as the reality of tomorrow hit him even harder than it had that morning. He nodded and Peggy smiled sadly back at him, taking his hand and leading him into their room. He got his bag out from under the bed and threw it on top of it.

"You said we can't do anything until I'm packed?"

"That's what I said isn't it?" He put on an evil smirk and started throwing things into his bag as fast as humanly possible, his army uniform, t-shirts, a pair of jeans to wear on the plane there and back, his toothbrush, normal trip things. Then came his shield and Captain America suit, the shield just not fitting. Peggy chuckled a little and walked up behind him, taking the red, white and blue metal out of his hand and leaned it against the dresser.

"I'm sure they won't kick you off because everything's not in your bag." she teased as the duffel was set next to the shield. "You did good soldier." Steve smiled down at her, his blue eyes shining the way they only did for her. He leaned down and took her lips with his own, his hands cupping her neck. Her eyes fluttered shut and kissed him back, her tongue running over his chapped lips. Her hands gripped onto his arms tight, but not tight enough to hurt. He opened his mouth to allow her probing tongue in, his arms drifting to settle around her waist, pulling her impossibly closer. Her nose bumped his a little as it turned heated, Steve's hands falling low enough for it to be suggestive. That was when Peggy pulled away and Steve pressed his forehead pressed against Peggy's, panting slightly. Peggy smirked at him, noticing a couple red smudges on his face and wiped them away wither her thumb as best she could. "Start that up and I won't let you leave..." she laughed breathily then took another in, trying to slow her heart back down.

"Maybe that's not all bad..." Steve pressed a kiss to his girl's neck and she almost gave in, her head tilting to the side to let him in and a moan escaping her lips, but she got control of herself and pushed at his shoulders. She wanted him, she really did, but she knew if she let him do what he wanted tonight, the next morning would be so much harder.

"Steve..." her voice was apologetic but final at the same time. He backed off, but never let his arms leave her waist and Peggy couldn't have been happier about it. "You know we can't..." he smiled sadly, nodding.

"Can't blame a guy for trying, can ya?" She smiled and pulled away, flipping some hair out of her face.

"I'll be right back, alright?" Steve nodded and Peggy headed into the bathroom for the second time that night. He sighed and looked at the clock; 10:27 pm. He only had about seven hours before he had to leave. He changed out of his suit reluctantly and into his flannel pajama pants and white wife beater; how he always slept. Moments after he had put his tux in the dirty clothes bin, Peggy came out of the bathroom, her make up gone and her taken out of its pinned curls, now hanging, brushed around her shoulders. Steve smiled at her and fixed their unmade bed while Peggy changed into her nightgown. She soon joined him in crawling under the covers and within seconds she was pressed into Steve's side. "I'm going to take you in in the morning make-"

"You really don't have to Peg..."

"I want to." her voice was firm and left no room for questioning so Steve let it go. She moved her head so that it was resting on his shoulder and his hand moved to pet her hair slowly. Peggy soon fell asleep, her arm drooped possessively over Steve, but he found he couldn't fall asleep, so he lied in bed, watching Peggy sleep until the alarm went off at 5:00 am to signal his departure.


	2. Chapter 2

Seven months, twenty four days, seven hours and forty six minutes. That's how long Steve had been gone and that's how long ago Peggy had started counting. In that time, she had written him four letters, received three back from him, completed eleven reams of paper work and nervously paced back and forth through their apartment countless times.

For seven months, twenty four days and seven hours, Peggy had made a mark in her notebook, a black tally for everyday he had been gone, then, blue for the remaining hours. She had daydreamed about him coming home and played his voice over and over again in her head. Every night she had seen his face behind her eyelids, his smile helping her to sleep while he couldn't. She had kept his letters on her person as if they were as precious as gold, reading them when she was sad or missing him or even just had nothing to do.

For seven months and twenty four days Peggy had eaten 241 dinners alone, gone into work alone 241 times and been asked to get a drink by the same creep on the street 241 times. She had gone on seventeen missions alone, having only ever trusted Steve to be her backup. She had gone to Howard 56 times, asking him if he had found a way to hack into the radios that Steve had been given, each time reluctantly told no and turned away. She had gone to visit her parents in England once, hoping it would take her mind off of Steve, it had only made it worse, knowing that she was that much closer to him but still had no idea where he was.

For seven months, twenty four days and seven hours Peggy had waited to stand where she was standing and for forty six minutes she had been standing at the doors of the SSR air strip, waiting for Steve's plane to land. She picked nervously at her thumbnail, waiting for the plane to finally land carrying Steve and his team. She looked around herself nervously, making sure no one she knew was around to see her the way she was, nervous and excited and anxious. Her head shot up, brown bouncing back in its tight curls as she could make out the shape of the plane in the distance, starting to make its painstaking decent to the ground. She found herself counting in her head, counting until she could see Steve again.

Her eyes fell out of focus as her brain started to distract itself while she waited. Numbers. Numbers were what had kept her sane, even though she had always hated math. The counting kept her focused enough on him coming back to not be worried about him, where he was, what he was doing, if he was safe. At least once a day she had gone and interrogated the chief, asking if he had heard anything, anything at all from Steve or anyone who had gone off with him, the result of such confrontations, more often than not, ending with Peggy being turned away with little more than a 'sorry' that only had half a meaning anyway.

The thought was quickly forgotten as suddenly her ears were filled with the roaring of the plane coming in, skidding down the landing strip and coming to a stop a few hundred feet in front of the building. Peggy pushed the glass doors open and tried not to run across the grass to where the plane was beginning to unload.

"Miss? You're not authorized to go out there." a voice came from inside, but she didn't hear it. The pit in her stomach that had loosened as she saw the plane land began to tighten again as the plane began unloading. Person after person got off, but there was no sign of Steve. She repeatedly scanned the faces of the people who were heading inside to see if she had missed him, but sure enough, he wasn't there.

A man came jogging over to her, wearing a uniform and a red face. He obviously didn't jog very much.

"Miss, I'm going to need to ask you to go back inside."

"Oh, yes, of course, I'm so sorry." Peggy replied as politely and cheerfully as she could manage as she felt her heart drop into her stomach, then turned on her heel and headed back inside, following that man, to start interrogating everyone she came across as to where the hell Captain America was. It had to be harder than that to lose him. She had gotten halfway across the field when a voice stopped her.

"Where do you think you're goin'?" Peggy spun around to face where the question had come from and froze. Steve was setting his bag down on the grass, his thousand watt smile already starting to make up for every second it hadn't been around.

"Steve!" In that moment, Peggy didn't care who saw her. She took off across the grass, running as fast as she could. As if it was even possible, Steve's smile got wider as he opened his arms and caught the brunette, pulling her in tight to his chest and spinning her as he felt her bury her face into his shirt as her arms locked around his neck. Afraid he would fall, he stopped but didn't put Peggy down as she pulled back to look at him. "Well look who finally decided to show up." Steve looked her and grinned as she bit her lip before kissing him, her hands moving from around his neck to the sides of his face and running through his hair.

"So I take it you missed me?" Steve asked as he set Peggy down but by no means let her go anywhere.

"Perhaps just a little..." Peggy tried to shoot back, but the tears that had begun welling up in her eyes made her voice shake and gave it away.

"Hey… you OK?" Steve set her down gently and moved to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear, but she moved away.

"I'm fine." She sniffled and made it look like she was scratching her cheek, but she was really brushing away the lone tear that had escaped her eye, she couldn't fool him. Steve started to say something, but Peggy's voice cut through first. "Let's get you home, shall we?" He put on a smile and nodded, deciding to drop her evasiveness for the moment as he picked his duffel bag up off the ground and followed Peggy back into the building. After dodging teary eyes reunions, a few sets of kids chasing each other around, and a spilled suitcase, the pair made their way out the front doors and to Peggy's car.

"Nice ride Peg, where'd you get it?" Peggy looked at him, a smirk was on her face with a raised eyebrow to match.

"Jarvis." They said simultaneously as Peggy took Steve's duffel from him and put it in the trunk before getting in the driver's seat.

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive?"

"What? Do you not _want_ me to drive?"

"No no no, I just… I thought you hated to drive..."

"I've learned to… appreciate it. A lot had changed since you left Steve." Peggy replied as she started the car and pulled away from the curb. It was over an hour drive from the landing strip to the city, and the ride was filled with the radio and conversation, mostly a battle over who had gotten the biggest scar from their respective adventures. The time passed quickly as they soon found themselves pulling into parking spot number 225 in the sketchy lot behind their apartment building. Peggy popped the trunk and Steve got his duffel out, slinging it over his shoulder. Peggy smiled at him and he smiled back. _God she's gorgeous_ was his only thought as he followed her up to their place.

Steve smiled as he walked in. It was exactly as he had left it. Dirty dishes were piled up in the sink, an afghan was thrown haphazardly across the couch, several cups resting on the coffee table beside it.

"Welcome home..." Peggy backed in, picking up a few things as she went. "Sorry I didn't clean-"

"It's fine Peg." He smiled. "It wouldn't feel like home any other way." Steve followed Peggy into the kitchen and caught her around the waist as she turned around, catching her off guard. He pressed a soft kiss to her lip, a thousand hellos contained within it. Peggy grinned and kissed him back, her arms wrapping around his massive chest and scratching his back soothingly under his black t shirt. He hummed as he pulled away, leaving Peggy feeling a bit empty inside. She wanted to kiss him forever, to make up for lost time. "I'm gonna go take a shower."

"What? You man they don't have running water in Siberia?" she joked. Steve let out a smiling breath and rolled his eyes as he removed his arm from Peggy's waist.

"I'll be back."

"I'm counting on it." Peggy replied. She had already turned her back and was getting herself distracted by something. He smiled, went to get his duffel, and headed down the small hallway to the bathroom that was on the left, across from their bedroom on the right, where he set down his bag.

Peggy heard the door lock click and the water start running and she knew she didn't have a ton of time to get everything perfect. She set the oven to start heating up before going to get a couple of napkins from the pantry and silverware from the drawer to go about setting the table for dinner.

Steve came out of the shower twenty minutes later, not caring that his shower had taken twenty minutes. It had been long and hot and just what he needed; it had been a long six months. He crossed the hall into the bedroom, closing that door behind him. Peggy knew she had five minutes.

Steve came out seven minutes later, changed into jeans and a red t shirt, his hair still a little damp. While he was still in the hallway, he started talking.

"Hey Peg? I-" he stopped. Peggy had draped a white tablecloth over their little, circular kitchen table, set it for dinner, and even lit a candle that smelled like pine. "Peg? What is all this?" He asked as he then noticed all of the food that was set on the counter; a turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, gravy, all the makings of a Thanksgiving meal. She smiled as she came out of the other room, wiping her hands on a towel.

"Well, you missed Thanksgiving, and I know it's your favorite, so I thought I'd try to-"

"I mean when the hell did you learn to cook?" a laugh hinted his voice.

"I told you a lot of things changed."

"I guess they did."

"Come on, let's eat before it gets cold." Steve nodded and took a seat to get out of Peggy's way as she served, quickly handing him a full, steaming plate of all his favorites. When Peggy sat down and saw the massive child like look of wonder, love, and hunger, she couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"What?" his voice was incredulous. "What'd I do?" Peggy stopped laughing but her smile never left.

"God I missed you." Steve just smiled and nodded.

"I missed you too Peg." They started eating and soon their conversation drifted back to stories of while they had been apart; Steve's daring acts of heroism and Peggy's badassery. Before she knew it, they both had finished and Steve was taking her plate away from her.

"Oh, I can-"

"Peggy, it's fine. You've been doing dishes for six months. One night won't kill me." Peggy sighed and nodded, not in the mood to argue with him. While he rinsed, she threw away their napkins, blew out the candle, and shook the tablecloth off out the window before folding it up and throwing it into the hamper to get washed.

Steve fell back onto the couch once he had finished, throwing his arms up to rest on the back of it. He was soon joined by Peggy who immediately tucked her feet underneath herself and leaned into him. Neither of them spoke, neither felt the need to. The sun was starting to set and hues of red and orange flooded the room from the big balcony window. Peggy cracked a smile and wrapped her arm behind Steve to lightly squeeze his side right before his arm fell from the back of the couch to settle around her shoulders. Steve looked over at Peggy, a smile on his face, which immediately fell once he saw that she wasn't happy at all.

"Peg? Hey, Peg, what's wrong?" He turned a little to face her more.

"Oh, it's nothing." She tried to brighten her face up a bit, but it was evident to Steve it wasn't working. "I'll be fine."

"Come on Peg, you know you can tell me anything..." She looked at Steve and their eyes met. In that moment, Peggy hit her breaking point. When she tilted her head down and felt the tears that she had held back all day starting to fall into her lap, she pulled him back into a tight hug, hiding her face in his chest.

"I was so afraid that you wouldn't come back..." Her voice had gotten small, just above a whisper.

"And what made you think that?" Steve rested his chin on the top of her head and pressed a hand into the small of her back.

"It was too close the last time, and I just… I was worried half to death you'd do something stupidly heroic and get yourself killed." Steve bit his lip, knowing exactly what she was talking about and decided not to tell her that he had done that on at least three separate occasions while he had been gone.

"Please Peg, when have you known me to do anything stupid?" That got her to laugh. He did stupid things on almost a daily basis; from tripping over his own two feet to attempting to crash a plane to save a city full of people when there were half a dozen other options.

She looked up at him, her eyes clearly begging him not to see her tears.

"You're staying, right?"

"Right."

"Good." And that was the end of it. Peggy rested her head on Steve's shoulder and went back to watching the sun paint rainbows on the sides of the buildings and listening to cars and sirens and dogs barking. Steve opened his mouth, then shut it. There was nothing else that needed to be said, not right then anyways.

After awhile, Steve felt the weight being put on his shoulder change. He glanced over at Peggy and broke into a smile, finding that she had fallen asleep. He moved a little, and after finding that she wasn't going to wake up, maneuvered himself out from underneath her and stood before scooping hr up in his arms. _She'll kill me if she ever finds out about this…_ Steve thought laughing inwardly as he carried the brunette down the hall and into the bedroom. After laying her down on the bed, headed across the hall to brush his teeth. Moments after the bathroom door had shut, Peggy woke with a start, sitting up quickly in bed, she gathered her surrounding. _T_ _he bedroom?_ _H_ _ow did_ _I_ _get_ _in_ _here?_ She thought as she heard the bathroom door open. _A_ _aaahhhhh._ Her headed nodded slightly in understanding as she walked Steve enter the room again.

"You're awake." "Indeed I am. Care to explain how I managed to get from the couch all the way in here?" she raised an eyebrow quizzically, knowing she had him trapped. "I... um... ya see..." Steve rubbed the back of his neck with his hand slowly, looking down at the floor. "I carried you in here?" he winced and closed his eyes tight, waiting for Peggy to scold him at least, but it never came. Instead, Peggy started giggling. "You're such a puppy dog. Come here." Not about to question not getting yelled at, Steve stripped down to his boxers and complied, crawling into bed next to Peggy, where she kissed him softly on the lips as his hands spanned her sides. "I'll let you get away with it this time." She grinned evilly before getting up, changing into her nightgown and getting back under the covers next to him, all in under a minute. Steve quickly wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled Peggy close to his body and pressed his face into her hair, inhaling deeply before pressing a kiss there. "God I missed you... Next time I leave you're coming with me." "Or you could not go at all..." Peggy's voice was getting soft again and Steve knew she was falling back asleep. Not that he minded, he was sure she had been all up the night before worrying and cleaning. "I'm glad you're home safe soldier, I missed you too." was the last thing Peggy managed to get out as Steve felt her head fall completely limp against his chest and her breathing even out slowly. When that happened, he knew she was out for the night. He smiled and brushed a curl out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. There was nothing more that he had wanted to do during his time away than do that. She always blushed a little and let out a breathy giggle when he did that. Maybe it was how he met her in the eyes every time he did, or maybe it was just the action itself. Either way, he loved it. He rolled off of his side and onto his back but never let go of Peggy, moving her so that her head rested on his shoulder and an arm was draped over his middle, so he could keep her hand in his. Looking at the brunette sleeping on his shoulder, he felt his heart almost smile. "I love you Peg." he whispered into the darkness as he returned his gave to the ceiling. He traced the paint patterns with his eyes, rubbing a thumb against the back of Peggy's hand, until he felt them getting heavy and let them close, before soon falling asleep as well. 


End file.
